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Welcome to BirdTracks® Online!
An email newsletter from
Wild Birds Unlimited for October 2005.

In This Issue:
 - Bird of the Month: Juncos - Get Ready for the Snowbirds
 - Fun Facts About Juncos
 - Attract Juncos By Ground Feeding
 - Operation Migration Update
 - Birding Old Florida

Juncos - Get Ready for the Snowbirds
Juncos and snow just seem to go together. Is it fate or an ancient rhythm of life that often brings the first snowfall and the first junco sighting at the same time each year?

Whatever the explanation, Dark-eyed Juncos are often called "Snowbirds" and many people believe their return from northern breeding grounds indeed foretells the return of winter's cold and snowy weather. During the winter, juncos are sighted at more feeding areas across North America than any other bird. Over 80 percent of participants in the Project Feeder Watch surveys reported seeing juncos at their feeders.

Like many other members of the sparrow family, juncos are primarily ground feeders and are drawn to the millet and mixed seeds around the base of your feeders.

Fall is the time to start preparing for the junco's return. Clean out those feeders, lay in a fresh supply of seed, and just maybe you should get that snow shovel out of storage too.

Fun Facts About Juncos

• Partners in Flight currently estimates the North American population of Dark-eyed Juncos at approximately 280 million, second only to the American Robin in overall population size in North America.
• Juncos spend the entire winter in flocks averaging in size from six to thirty or more birds. Each flock has a dominance hierarchy with mature males at the top, then juvenile males, mature females and young females at the bottom. You can often observe individuals challenging the status of others with aggressive displays of lunges and tail flicking.
• On an annual basis, a Junco's diet is made up of approximately three parts seeds to one part insects. During the nesting period, the percent of insects can increase up to 50 or 60 percent of their diet.
• Juncos have over 30 percent more feathers (by weight) in the winter than they do in summer.
• Juncos prefer to roost in evergreens at night, but will also use tall grasses and brush piles. They return to the same roost location repeatedly and will share it with other flock mates, but they do not huddle together.
• Male Juncos return and reclaim the same breeding territory year after year.
• Rodents such as Chipmunks and Deer mice are major predators on the eggs of Juncos.
• The longevity records for Juncos are: White-winged - 7.5 years; Dark-eyed -10 years, 9 months; Oregon - 9 years, 9 months; Gray-headed 10 years, 8 months.

Attract Juncos By Ground Feeding
Attract juncos this fall and winter by providing a ground-feeding option. Use a ground feeder - an open tray feeder that is slightly elevated off the ground. Fill it with a quality seed blend high in white millet - be sure to ask us which seed blend is appropriate for your area.

Birds find their food by sight. They will hop along the ground inside, or just outside of, a protective cover area scratching and searching for food. Providing an open tray feeder allows birds to find the food and allows unobstructed views for your observation and enjoyment.

Place the feeder near vegetation that allows birds a quick hiding space from predators - about 10 to 15 feet from bushes or a brush pile is far enough to expose prowling predators, but close enough for a quick-flight hiding place.

Operation Migration Update
The Operation Migration team is ready to do it again! Please check the Operation Migration web site for daily highlights of this amazing flight.

Twenty juvenile Whopping Cranes are scheduled to start their 1,200 mile journey from Wisconsin to Florida. During the next two months they will learn their annual migration route by following the wings of an Operation Migration ultra-light aircraft.

This is the fifth year of the Whooping Crane reintroduction program and by any measure it has been a success. There are now 42 wild, migratory Whooping cranes where none existed for more than a hundred years.

The soaring cost of fuel, increased expenses, and need for additional staff have all combined to put a strain on the Operation Migration budget. If you would like to help, please visit the web site to learn how you can support the Operation Migration team.

Wild Birds Unlimited has been a proud sponsor of the Whooping Crane Recovery Program with grants from the Pathways To Nature Conservation Fund to both Operation Migration and Necedah NWR.

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